thynnlynn

I am 60 and scheduled for aa band to RNY on 2/25/13.

I bought an amazing gadget that turns zucchini into round spaghettilike strands and other veggies can be made into flat noodle shapes. I stir it around in a non-stick pan with a little salt and leave it al dente and it is delicious. I like it better than regular pasta and it is extremely low cal and NO carbs!!! I got it on Amazon at this site ~http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_16?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=vegetable+noodle+maker&sprefix=vegetable+noodle%2Caps%2C281 Here is what it looks like in the pan ~

They remove a section that absorbs calories and nutrients to get you started. The malabsorption lasts up to two years but you will require supplemental vitamins and minerals for life.

My joints have been bad since high school and I have other chronic pain issues. This will definitely make it easier to get around. I go to acoustic music festivals in the summer and need to be able to do a lot of walking. I need to be hauling instruments not hobbling about on a walker. :wub:

Hi! I am 60 and will be having band to RnY on 3/13. My grandson is 11 and my granddaughter is 9. They will appreciate a grandma that will be able to do more physical things with them. I will also add that as soon as I am feeling well enough after the RnY, I have to have a total left hip revision as the rod in my femur never adhered and has been loose for two years and hurts. This revision is 3 times worse than the original and I will be hobbling on a walker for quite some time. My goal is to be able to walk well and be down a decent amount by July.

This is the schedule recommended by the ASMBS, however, your doctor may want something different ~ Breakfast – multi, B12, B complex (if you take that), D3 (if you take that) lunch – 500 mg calcium citrate (you can take your D3 here too if you want to spread the pills out more and have less to take with breakfast) Snack - 500 mg calcium citrate dinner – multi, Iron, Vitamin C Bedtime – 500 mg calcium citrate These schedules have you taking the Vitamins recommended by the ASMBS, along with taking Vitamin C with your iron because then you’ll absorb that iron better. If you pair your vitamins up with meals, it gets easier to remember them, I think. And it doesn’t matter if you sleep late or go to bed early or whatever, because it’s not a certain time of day you take them, it’s just whenever you eat breakfast or go to bed.

I am probably the grandma of the group. I am 60 and my grandson is 11 and my granddaughter is 9. Bought myself a bike a couple of years ago and then required a hip replacement and could not ride it. Turned out the hip did not heal well and I have been walking around with a loose rod in my leg for two years and it hurts. It was to have been revised on 10/26 and the cancelled it about an hour before I was to leave for the hospital as my surgeon and his partner were going to do it together at the smaller hospital, closer to me. It turned out that the hospital was simply not equipped for some things that are very likely to happen and it will be done at the big hospital across the state from me as soon as I heal well enough from the WLS. That is going to be a biggie and will haveme hobbling about on a walker for a long time. We go to music festivals in the summer and my goal is to be able to be without a walker and able to ride my bike. I had my husband put a basket on the front and folding side baskets over the back fender so I could use it to go to the local stores. Oh, and I see I even have a pink hat and a pink & purple horn.

Surgey on 3/13/13 at Barix in Ypsilanti with Dr. Taylor.

Hi! My original date was 1/4 but due to a major thyroid issue it got cancelled at my 12/26 pre-op and I was devastated. Got everything under control and was scheduled for April Fool's Day. which is just so wrong. The scheduler called me this afternoon to tell me that there was a cancellation and my new date is 3/13/13 (I like the numbers ~ easy to remember my new *birthday*) with a pre-op on 2/25. I do not have to have the 2-week liquid diet. BTW, I also post on the big ObesityHelp.com - RNY thread and I have NEVER heard of anyone having a g-tube.

Hi! I was scheduled for 1/4 but when I went to my pre-op on 12/26 my bloodwork showed that my thyroid was way, way too low. It quir working about 25 years ago and I take 250 mcs of Synthroid daily, but due to sleep deprivation and some other issues, my med schedule got all messed up and they canceled the surgery! I have faithfully been taking my regular dose plus an extra 25 mcgs. I had labs done Thursday and it is now normal. My doc has approved it and I have a call into scheduling. They are scheduling into March and April right now, but I am hoping they feel sorry for me and give me the first cancellation date. As soon as I have this surgery and recover enough, I have to have a big surgery which is going to put my out of commission for quite some time and I am hoping to be all okay by summer.

Glad to hear you can keep your date. I discovered that not only was I not in compliance with my med taking, I was taking the wrong dose. This is going to soiund really stupid, but I am supposed to be on 250 mcgs of Synthroid daily and they do not make a 250, so I have been taking a 200 and a 50, or so I thought. I know I had a mixture of white and orange ones in the one bottle (as they raised it for a bit and it was too much) and thought the orange ones were the 50s, but they are the 25s. So, instead of taking the 250 mcgs, when I took them, I was only getting 225 mcgs. This sounds like a piddly amountm but between that and then not taking them as I should really made a difference. I am going to up it to 275 mcgs per day and have my blood retested in a month and hope it has come down enough to be put back on the schedule and hope for another cancellation so I do not have to wait so long. It is not that I am in such a hurry to lose the weight, rather I have to wait till the band to RNY heals enough for me to have a revision on my hip replacement which is a big surgery with a long recovery time and I do not want it to interfere with my summer activities, which include a lot of walking. Good luck to all of you that have January dates!!!!!! :wub: Wish I was still one of you!!

I just talked to my PCP and he will not increase my dosage, however, his nurse said that if I faithfully take my Synthroid in the proper manner that it would more than likely resolve within a month, so I am going to wait the month and have it done and see where I am at. I was just shocked to see that it had gotten so bad, as I had labs done for the hip surgery that got cancelled in October and they were fine at the time I had the PAT for that. I am just feeling like Eeyore and hoping that I can get this together and that they will have a cancellation date available for me. They did say they do get a lot of cancellations like mine, so, hopefully I can get it done within a couple of months. I also discovered I gained 12 pounds since my appointment and need to get those off!!!

I am simply devestated!!!! We drove 3 hours to my pre-op testing and I went to the nutrition class and did all the x-rays only to find out that my thyroid test was too far off and they cancelled my 1/4 surgery!!! I have an old, blind, deaf dog who has been changing my sleep hours all around and I have missed some of my thyroid doses. They said the TSH was 73.96 and it has to be under 20.00 before they will reschedule me and I will have to do the entire PAT thing over again. They suggested I call my PCP and see if I can have my already high dosage upped for a little and have it checked in a month and if it is under 20, they will reschedule me whevever. I am no longer a January date and have no idea how long it will take for it to build up in my system. The one nurse was thinking even up to 3 MONTHS!!!!! This has really hit me hard as I was so very prepared for this and now it has to start all over again. Have any of you run into this and have an idea when I can realistically got in for a sucessful blood draw for good TSH levels if I faithfully follow my med schedule? I do not want to waste a trip.

Another helpful site is obesityhelp.com. They have oodles and oodles of before and after picture to inspire you.

Glad to hear you are doing well. Lynn

In the world of healthcare, YOU, have to be your own advocate. When they told me I needed appointments, I told the them that they alrready had my info and to just fax it where it needed to go. I was approved immediately by insurance and did not get a date until it was. This is the same while you are in the hospital, you have to watch out for yourself. If you did not see the person wash their hands, make them or make them glove up. Make sure nothing they touch is near any scratches you might have. Everyday equipment is not cleaned all that often and things spread. I worked in Cardiopulmonary for a long time and there is no way to properly clean an EKG machine between patients, even if you are dealing with MERSA or c.diff. In fact, when I had the band put in, I came home with the extra gift of c.diff. I have learned my lesson. Keep on top of it!!! Lynn

I know how you feel. I have absolutely NO support from my family. They all feel that it should not be allowed unless you weigh at least 400 pounds or more. I take so many meds it is hard to keep track of them all. There are some that will be with me for life, but there are others that are related to weight and those should all be able to go once I lose the extra pounds. My joints were bad before I put on weight and having over an extra 100# hanging on me with every move sure did not help. I cannot even lift 100#! I have had both knees replaced and a hip. The hip did not heal properly and as soon as I recover from this surgery, I am scheduled for a revision on my hip which is a very difficult procedure. That will have a long recovery time and although I will be doing a lot o physical therapy, it will affect my ability to do the kind of exercise I would prefer. Do not let anyone bully you into thinking you took the easy way out. Nothing about this is easy but for those of us that just cannot keep it off it is a great tool. We just have to remember that this is not another diet that will end some day, rather it is the beginning of an entirely new lifestyle. I have had three heart attacks and do not want another! I live with chronic severe fibromyalgia that has nothing to do with the weight, but I would still be better able to move around if this weight was gone. I will need pain medication forever but not all the other stuff with the crappy side effects. I have this on My Favorites and her blog is loaded with excellent info and recipes - http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/ Good luck on your journey! Lynn

From one old hippie girl to another, this is hysterical and I am in the same situation!!!!! He looks 12 months pregnant and He has not seen his in years unless juggling a couple of mirrors!!! As long as he leaves me alone, I am okay! I have tried being nice but it did not work and that was several years ago. I still hear about this but just walk the other way!!! HA!

Note to Self - Buy SF chocolate syrup! I take a lot of meds and will need to do a lot of cutting and crushing. The chocolate syrup sounds like the perfect solution to me. :wub:

I was banded (by now-retired Dr. Schram) and will have band removal and revision to RNY at Barix in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which exclusively does bariatric surgery and reconstructive surgery. Dr. this time is Jamokey Taylor, who also has an office in Saginaw, MI. Pre-op date is 12/26 with surgery date of 1/4/13.

I am also posting on Obesity.com on their RNY thread, so if I duplicate anything, I am sorry. Everything seems to be moving so very quickly. I go Wednesday for my pre-op testing (and Christmas shopping for me, as I asked for cash to hit the clearances!), then band removal and RNY on the 4th of January. I was concerned about the Protein drinks and the different flavors, very few that appealed to me. I discovered Capella unsweetened concentrated flavoring in droplet bottles. There are many, many to choose from. I even chose French Toast & Bacon!!! These may be added to Protein shakes, yogurt, cottage cheese....just about anything. Add a drop or two or more to your liking and they will magically turn that plain vanilla shake into whatever you choose. Mine arrived yesterday and may be ordered online. I have been reading the posts of those who are now about a year out and they are very encouraging. We are all starting our journey right at the new year and should see a big change by summer! It will be exciting to see our pictures next Christmas and just how we have changed in both body and in being mindful that this is a forever lifestyle change and just how well we did throughout the year. Blessings and a Merry Christmas to you all! Lynn

I was going through mt cabinets the other day and realized I have several cans of Protein powder. They are quite outdated, but sealed. I was looking at the ingredient list and nothing looks like it would spoil and I know expiration dates are necessary but a lot of time, not really all that important. However, the first ingredient is soy protein but there are whey isolates, as well, and a goodly amount of protein per scoop. If I were vegan, I would have to choose the soy and am wondering if I should use these along with the whey that I plan on buying. I do not mind the outdated part. I am wondering if you would use both whey and soy protein. Money is a BIG factor here. Blessings. Lynn

Hope everything continues to go well for the two of you!!! I will be able to jump into the other side on 1/4, a great way to start out a brand new year.

I think we look at it as a tool to help us, where those that are not considering WLS surgery just believe that we will eat smaller amounts of whatever we want and everything will be fine. They have no concept of what actually happens. As soon as I am healed from this surgery, I will be having a very serious hip revision surgery. So serious, that my surgeon and his partner cancelled it the day of surgery saying that it needs to be done in a larger hospital with full access to all types of equipment. I had an appointment with the new ortho doc on 1/8 but as my RNY is now 1/4, I rescheduled for 3/1 to schedule the hip revision. I am hoping whatever weight I have lost by the time of that surgery will make it easier on me and the docs. Any surgery is complicated by obesity and I am doing this for my health, not my looks. I am 60-years-old and that simply does not matter anymore! People can say the darndest things, but we KNOW what we are really undertaking. Being thankful for RNYTalk and Obesityhelp for my only outside support! :wub: Blessings! Lynn

I have photos in my gallery but not one in the before area, Thanks. Lynn